Kansas Supreme Court Decisions 2023
Date: December 22, 2023
Docket Number: 124458
Justia Opinion Summary: In the State of Kansas, Robert Lowell-Lawrence Ward, the defendant, attempted to withdraw his 2013 plea of no contest to various crimes, eight years later in 2021. The district court summarily denied his motion, and the…
Date: December 15, 2023
Docket Number: 124378
Justia Opinion Summary: In the state of Kansas, a number of non-profit groups, including the League of Women Voters of Kansas and the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, challenged a law which made it a felony to engage in conduct that…
Date: December 8, 2023
Docket Number: 122400
Justia Opinion Summary: In a defamation case involving a cosmetic surgeon and a former patient who posted negative and false reviews on Yelp, the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas affirmed the district court's judgment that the surgeon…
Date: December 8, 2023
Docket Number: 125254
Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, Devawn T. Mitchell was convicted for first-degree felony murder, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of felony fleeing and eluding, and…
Date: December 1, 2023
Docket Number: 123723
Justia Opinion Summary: In the case at hand, the appellant, Melissa Lowe, was convicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon involving an incident with her ex-husband's girlfriend. Lowe appealed her conviction, arguing that the district…
Date: November 22, 2023
Docket Number: 123833
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court ruling that R.R.'s best interests would be served as naming T.R. the legal father, holding that the district…
Date: November 17, 2023
Docket Number: 123260
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Defendant's felony theft charge as multiplicitous and reversed the ruling of a panel of the court of appeals reversing that decision, holding that…
Date: November 17, 2023
Docket Number: 123862
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the decision of the district court convicting Defendant of driving under the influence, holding that the district court did not err in denying…
Date: October 20, 2023
Docket Number: 124674
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court judge summarily denying Defendant's motion for relief under Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-1507 and refusing to appoint him…
Date: October 20, 2023
Docket Number: 124724
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of, among other crimes, one count of first-degree felony murder based on the underlying inherently dangerous felony of fleeing or…
Date: October 20, 2023
Docket Number: 124851
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the award of credit under Kan. Stat. Ann. 21-6615(a) is not limited to time spent "solely" in custody for the charge for which the defendant was being sentenced, thus affirming in part and…
Date: October 20, 2023
Docket Number: 125552
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing Dameon Baumgarner's wrongful conviction claim seeking compensation under Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-5004, holding that Baumgarner was "imprisoned" for…
Date: September 29, 2023
Docket Number: 124972
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions and sentences for felony murder, attempted aggravated robbery, and other offenses, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error. After…
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 122156
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for aggravated kidnapping and vacated his sentence for that conviction but affirmed the remainder of his convictions, holding that the State did not present sufficient…
Date: August 11, 2023
Docket Number: 123742
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of a panel of the court of appeals vacating Defendant's conviction for aggravated kidnapping, thus reaffirming that the three-part test fashioned in State v. Buggs, 547 P.2d 720…
Date: August 4, 2023
Docket Number: 122660
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court overruled the holding in State v. Watson, 885 P.2d 1226 (1994) that the State can convict a defendant for attempted aggravated burglary without proving the defendant intended to enter an occupied…
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 125778
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered two certified questions regarding the interplay between an arbitrated award against one set of tortfeasors and a litigated proceeding against another set of tortfeasors in this case concerning…
Date: July 14, 2023
Docket Number: 123190
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court reversing its order suppressing evidence found in the car that Defendant was driving on two separate occasions where law enforcement discovered drugs and other…
Date: July 7, 2023
Docket Number: 123823
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of a panel of the court of appeals reversing the district court's determination that a prescriptive easement existed over land owned by the Galls, holding that the panel erred in…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 123063
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's ruling in this eminent domain case between Tenants and City involving the requirement that a condemning authority provide…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 123100
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for several crimes after he intentionally set a fire that damaged several apartments, holding, among other things, that the Kansas Legislature has defined the unit of…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 124064
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of a panel of the court of appeals reaching the merits of Defendant's appeal of his conviction and sentence, holding that this Court expressly overrules its prior opinion in State…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 124116
Justia Opinion Summary: In this action involving a district court's division of Jon Holliday's retirement account in a divorce proceeding with Tamara Holliday the Supreme Court held that Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-2403(c)'s tolling provision prevents a…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 124529
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals panel reversing the ruling of the district court denying Lisa Webster's request to clarify an order made during her divorce proceedings that she receive a…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 124636
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment the district court ruling against Defendant on his "Motion to Void Restitution, Reimbursements for Indigent Defense Services and Court Cost and Fees and Witness Fees" based on the…
Date: June 30, 2023
Docket Number: 126125
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting an uncontested petition of the trustees of the Marvin S. Robinson Charitable Trust to retroactively modify the trust's terms to maintain its…
Date: June 23, 2023
Docket Number: 125113
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court denying Appellant's successive motion to correct an illegal sentence in this second appeal regarding the matter, holding that the doctrine of res judicata barred…
Date: June 9, 2023
Docket Number: 123005
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals panel upholding a restitution plan imposed by the district court in connection with Appellant's plea of guilty to aggravated robbery of a vehicle, holding…
Date: June 2, 2023
Docket Number: 123023
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this case involving permits issued in 2017 and 2018 by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to four different swine confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), holding that…
Date: May 26, 2023
Docket Number: 122418
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of a panel of the court of appeals denying Defendant's motion to correct an illegal sentence and remanded that claim to the district court to exercise its concurrent jurisdiction,…
Date: May 19, 2023
Docket Number: 125600
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Appellant's wrongful conviction action brought under Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-5004 for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, holding…
Date: May 5, 2023
Docket Number: 123382
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this criminal case for resentencing, holding that the district court erred in scoring Appellant's out-of-state burglary convictions as person felonies in imposing the underlying sentence. In…
Date: April 28, 2023
Docket Number: 123825
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that there was no error. Defendant…
Date: April 28, 2023
Docket Number: 124804
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree premeditated murder, selling sexual relations, and two counts of felony theft, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on her allegations of…
Date: April 21, 2023
Docket Number: 121956
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentence for aggravated kidnapping, holding that the district court judge did not err in applying the statutory departure factor set forth in Kan. Stat. Ann.…
Date: April 14, 2023
Docket Number: 121204
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeal upholding Defendant's convictions for, among other things, possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, holding that multiple errors in the…
Date: April 14, 2023
Docket Number: 121460
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part Defendant's convictions, holding that the prosecutor committed prosecutorial error during closing argument, and the State failed to carry its burden to prove the…
Date: April 14, 2023
Docket Number: 121865
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school under Kan. Stat. Ann. 21-5705, holding that the district court erroneously…
Date: April 14, 2023
Docket Number: 123185
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of possessing firearms by a felon and one count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute but reversed his conviction of one count of driving…
Date: April 7, 2023
Docket Number: 123783
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of felony theft and unlawful acts concerning a computer but remanded the cause for a restitution hearing, holding that the amount of restitution awarded was not…
Date: April 7, 2023
Docket Number: 124625
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court denying Defendants' motion to withdraw his guilty plea under Kan. Stat. Ann. 22-3210 and his subsequent motion under Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-1507 alleging…
Date: April 7, 2023
Docket Number: 124790
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court resentencing Defendant for first-degree murder and arson, holding that the journal entry indicating that Defendant would be sentenced to lifetime postrelease…
Date: March 31, 2023
Docket Number: 124169
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the court of appeals and district court affirming the decision of the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) to suspend Appellant's driving privileges, holding that, contrary to…
Date: March 31, 2023
Docket Number: 125617
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court and confirmed the existence of a common-law marriage between Margaret Heidkamp and Edward Ritter, holding that the district court's findings were supported by…
Date: March 10, 2023
Docket Number: 123807
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court denying Defendant's pro se motion to vacate an illegal sentence under Kan. Stat. Ann. 22-3504, holding that…
Date: March 10, 2023
Docket Numbers: 125505, 125,506, 125,507
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion, entitled "Request for Nunc Pro Tunc Order to Effectuate Compliance with Kan. Stat.…
Date: February 24, 2023
Docket Number: 121914
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, one count of first-degree felony murder, and other crimes, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his…
Date: February 10, 2023
Docket Number: 122782
Justia Opinion Summary: Ninh was convicted of rape, indecent liberties with a child, and aggravated criminal sodomy related to allegations that over more than four years he sexually assaulted, raped, and sodomized his victim. The district court…
Date: February 10, 2023
Docket Number: 123637
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to withdraw his no contest pleas to aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary, and arson, holding that the…
Date: January 27, 2023
Docket Number: 123684
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals panel reversing the judgment of the district court against Key Insurance Company in this garnishment action brought by Nancy Granados seeking pay under the…
Date: January 20, 2023
Docket Number: 120566
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing all but one of Defendant's felony possession convictions and all but one of his misdemeanor possession convictions, holding that the court of…
Date: January 6, 2023
Docket Number: 122810
Justia Opinion Summary: In this interlocutory appeal, the Supreme Court held that when a person requests an electronic copy of a public electronic record under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) a public agency must provide that copy in…
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